Two owlets born to the United States' only northern spotted owls to have bred in captivity, Polka and Dot, are scheduled to leave Bend's High Desert Museum on Feb. 2.

The chicks will go to a breeding center in British Columbia to help in efforts to save this threatened species.

Visitors can see the owlets inside a re-created forest habitat exhibit at the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center, at the museum six miles south of Bend, until their departure.

A large, forest-colored curtain divides the habitat, screening the offspring from their parents. The owlets reached maturity before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a permit for them
to leave the country.

In the wild, the owlets would have left the parental nest and hunted for their own food during that time. In the exhibit habitat however, the owlets continued seeking food from their parents.

The chicks hatched last April. The northern spotted owls, the only ones in the U.S. to have bred in captivity, are a testament to the quality of the museum's wildlife program.

The owlets they will go to the Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Centre near Fort Langley in British Columbia, where they will be paired with other owls bred in Canada and released to the wild with their young.

Polka and Dot will remain at the museum. Their fertility is noteworthy because they are each about 24 years old, and had not laid eggs for the last two years. Spotted owls have been known to live as long as 31 years in captivity. They typically do not live beyond 20years in the wild.

Previously the owls produced chicks at the museum in 2003, 2004 and 2005. The U.S. Forest Service relocated those chicks to wild "foster" nests in southwestern Oregon. This year the owlets weren't placed in wild nests because they hatched earlier than those in the wild.

Museum admission is $10 for ages 13 to 64; $9 for seniors (age 65 and older); $6 for children (ages 5 to 12), and children age 4 and younger are free. The High Desert Museum is nationally acclaimed for inspiring stewardship of the natural and cultural resources of the high desert. Visit www.highdesertmuseum.org or call 541-382-4754.